The Rams moved to St. Louis and became dead to me. Never appreciated the Raiders gangsta thing, and then they went back to Oakland.
The Dodgers fell under the spell of the necromancer Frank McCourt. Never was an Angels guy. (I still consider them the Johnny-come-latelies who play 10-man ball.)
Don’t care about hockey.
Major League Soccer … […]

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To recap, Thursday night in the UAE is Friday night in the West. The end of the work week.
And when we got word from a newsroom colleague that the detachment of Marines at the U.S. Embassy here in Abu Dhabi were hosting a Cinco de Mayo party … well, as Americans and Californians, don’t we […]

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Roy Hodgson was named coach of the England national soccer team yesterday, and it was not a popular choice.
Most English fans seemed to prefer Harry Redknapp, a sort of lovable rogue of a coach, in English eyes, currently at Tottenham, who has occasional bouts with the tax man and other shady doings. But “Arry” is […]

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Putting this into historical context, I believe countries have a point where they feel a need to prove themselves to outsiders. This is when they enter their “biggest, longest, tallest” phase.
Eighty years ago, the Empire State Building was built in an America coming to grips with its position in the world. As a major player.
Scroll […]

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The UAE Falcons have been mentioned previously on this blog. Back in February I drove up to Dubai to watch them practice.
A batch of guys, led by a German coach, are trying to play American football, as it is known here. (Just plain “football” in these parts being soccer.)
They actually got a game against outside […]

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One of the great urban myths from the days shortly after we arrived … was the “abandoned luxury car at the Dubai airport.”
The narrative was this: High-flying foreign investor, realizes things have gone south as the real estate market implodes, well aware that white-collar crime is often heavily punished here … goes to the airport, […]

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The most successful soccer club in the country is Al Ain FC, which happens to be located in the UAE’s version of suburbia, Al Ain City.
Al Ain FC secured its 10th league title tonight in a 2-0 spanking of Al Jazira, the defending champions, who couldn’t be bothered to play hard.
And UAE suburbia erupted with […]

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Just sitting here thinking of where I would go/visit … if time and money were no obstacle. Places I haven’t yet been.
A fantasy list, I suppose it what it is, because it won’t happen, except in my imagination.
You know the drill: top 10, with my most-like-to-see place at No. 1
10. Lisbon. Remember Casablanca, the greatest […]

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We live in a soccer culture, here in the UAE. But even after 2.5 years of being immersed in it, I do not have fully formed opinions on many of the world’s biggest teams and leagues.
I have discovered, however, that two teams are beginning to bug me. And No. 1 on the list?

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I love the President’s Cup final.
It’s a major domestic soccer game, the local version of England’s FA Cup final. But what I really find fascinating is how big this is with the Emirati populace.
This attracts regular guys in big numbers, but it also attracts many of the most prominent sheikhs in the country — in […]

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